Paleoecology uses data from
fossils and subfossils to reconstruct the
ecosystems of the past. It includes the study of
fossil organisms and their
bromalites and other
trace fossils in terms of their
life cycle, their living interactions, their
natural environment, their manner of
death and burial. Paleoecology's aim is therefore to build the most detailed model possible of the
life environment of those
living organisms found today as fossils; such reconstruction work involves complex interactions among environmental factors (
temperature,
food supplies, degree of
solar illumination, etc.). Of course, much of this complex data has been distorted or destroyed by the post-mortem fossilization processes, adding another layer of complexity.
The environmental complexity factor is normally tackled through
statistical analysis of the available numerical data (quantitative
paleontology or
paleostatistics), while the study of post-mortem processes is known as the field of
taphonomy.
Much paleoecological research focuses on the last two million years (the
Quaternary period) because older environments are less well-represented in the fossil
timeline of evolution. Indeed, many studies concentrate on the
Holocene epoch (the last 11,000 years), or the last glacial stage of the
Pleistocene epoch (the
Wisconsin/Weichsel/Devensian/Würm glaciation of the
ice age, from 50,000 to 10,000 years ago). Such studies are useful for understanding the dynamics of ecosystem change and for reconstructing pre-industrialization ecosystems. Many
public policy decision-makers have pointed to the importance of using paleoecological studies as a basis for choices made in
conservation ecology.
See also
